Walk the Line

Last week I went to a dinner party where I had a long chat with a psychologist who gave me some advice on how to develop my mind and art at the same time.

He advised me to ”turn off” my dominant left brain and “turn on” my non- dominant right brain with some exercises. This will force a cognitive shift and suppress the left brain completely. It’s at this stage the left brain will try to talk to the right brain and try to use increasing amounts of persuasion to relinquish its power. You may need to be firm with it at this stage as some people have an enlarged corpus collosum connecting the two parts of the brain. This could affect creativity as it fights with reasoning.

I was told to find a comfortable place to sit on my own, where I could close my eyes, unlock my senses, and switch off my left brain. I focused my closed eyes observing every variation and undulation of a form that I desired. This would show my creativity as freedom lines.

This pure contour is a way to improve my use of senses, sight and touch. Feeling your way around an object can increase the intensity of your stroke. This tactile approach will give a  stronger communication to your brain as to its qualities whether, soft, hard, furry, bumpy, sticky, etc.This will suppress the left brain as it gets bored easily and switches off, leaving the right brain “in charge”. A certain amount of restraint will be required at this point as all this excitement may be too much to handle all at once. You will need to build yourself up to a full workout over the coming weeks. Short, sharp bursts should be avoided and thrill-seekers beware of the consequences’.

These lineal movements exceeded my expectations, giving me a truly magical experience. Below is the finished painting.

Exercises

After 20 minutes open your eyes and try juggling your balls, not only will it improve your hand-eye coordination but it will definitely stimulate your imagination. Also you could try doing a jigsaw puzzle with the picture side down on a glass coffee table. Get a close friend to stand over the puzzle while you get under the table and give verbal instructions on where you want the pieces to go. This will bring you closer together as you get to know each other better.